tess
05-12-05, 12:02 PM
Hello, again.
I found an excellent description (incredibly accurate) of exactly what I suffer. I have been everywhere and tried so many medication, to no avail.. I don't know whether I am really ADD or whether I'm just lazy.
I was diagnosed with ADD 10 years ago, when I was in my final year at school. The psychiatrist screened me by making me fill in a questionnaire. He added up all the squares I ticked 'yes' to and concluded that I had ADD and prescribed dexamphetamines! It took seconds..
The dexies are fantastic, but I have been on them too long and now I believe I am psychologically dependent on them and need to take a lot more to see the effects. I tried Ritalin, but I needed twice as much and it tended to make me tired, not alert like the dexamphetamines.
I don't think I had ADD because it does the reverse of what it is supposed to do. It's supposed to slow you down and help you focus, right? For me it gives me this boost of self confidence and makes me talkative (very talkative) and bouncy.. It's terrific, I use it to study and stay awake.. but now I worry that about the long-term effects.. I want to get 'psychoneuroplasticity' done, because I think that will tell me whether I really do have a problem with the beta1 waves in my brain and whether I have damaged my neurological system. I read that if you abuse amphetamines, you risk minimising the amount of dopamine available in the brain.
It takes me a lot of motivation to want to take the pills.. because I am so disorganised and an incredibly chronic procrastinator, it takes me a long time to get the pills into my mouth (and because they don't taste the best), so I need motivation to take the motivation pills..
Anyway, I disgress..
This is the excerpt I found that describes exactly what I am finding I have trouble with:
"Disabilities in abstract reasoning, organization, and problem solving; Average or better in the basic cognitive skills of visual and auditory processing, memory, associative learning, etc., but who are disabled in their ability to use this information to form new concepts, solve problems, etc. They are deficient in what is often described as higher order intelligence or fluid reasoning.
Symptoms: Difficulty solving unique problems, understanding the relationships between things (e.g., trouble with analogies)."
Maybe I do lack fluid reasoning skills.. maybe I am pushing myself too hard to achieve and study.. maybe I am average and shouldn't be over doing it with studying a legal degree.. maybe that's my problem. But you know what our society is like these days: they tell you that "you can do anything to put your mind to".. false hope? I think so.
Maybe I do have a disability in abstract reasoning.. I certainly can't think in the abstract and if I read a paragraph, I cannot find the words to use to summarise it and retain its existing meaning..
Does anyone else have the same problem and can they say that they too have a problem with abstract reasoning?
I also have a problem with working memory.. How would I improve this?
Any help, comments, assistance, advice is appreciated.
I found an excellent description (incredibly accurate) of exactly what I suffer. I have been everywhere and tried so many medication, to no avail.. I don't know whether I am really ADD or whether I'm just lazy.
I was diagnosed with ADD 10 years ago, when I was in my final year at school. The psychiatrist screened me by making me fill in a questionnaire. He added up all the squares I ticked 'yes' to and concluded that I had ADD and prescribed dexamphetamines! It took seconds..
The dexies are fantastic, but I have been on them too long and now I believe I am psychologically dependent on them and need to take a lot more to see the effects. I tried Ritalin, but I needed twice as much and it tended to make me tired, not alert like the dexamphetamines.
I don't think I had ADD because it does the reverse of what it is supposed to do. It's supposed to slow you down and help you focus, right? For me it gives me this boost of self confidence and makes me talkative (very talkative) and bouncy.. It's terrific, I use it to study and stay awake.. but now I worry that about the long-term effects.. I want to get 'psychoneuroplasticity' done, because I think that will tell me whether I really do have a problem with the beta1 waves in my brain and whether I have damaged my neurological system. I read that if you abuse amphetamines, you risk minimising the amount of dopamine available in the brain.
It takes me a lot of motivation to want to take the pills.. because I am so disorganised and an incredibly chronic procrastinator, it takes me a long time to get the pills into my mouth (and because they don't taste the best), so I need motivation to take the motivation pills..
Anyway, I disgress..
This is the excerpt I found that describes exactly what I am finding I have trouble with:
"Disabilities in abstract reasoning, organization, and problem solving; Average or better in the basic cognitive skills of visual and auditory processing, memory, associative learning, etc., but who are disabled in their ability to use this information to form new concepts, solve problems, etc. They are deficient in what is often described as higher order intelligence or fluid reasoning.
Symptoms: Difficulty solving unique problems, understanding the relationships between things (e.g., trouble with analogies)."
Maybe I do lack fluid reasoning skills.. maybe I am pushing myself too hard to achieve and study.. maybe I am average and shouldn't be over doing it with studying a legal degree.. maybe that's my problem. But you know what our society is like these days: they tell you that "you can do anything to put your mind to".. false hope? I think so.
Maybe I do have a disability in abstract reasoning.. I certainly can't think in the abstract and if I read a paragraph, I cannot find the words to use to summarise it and retain its existing meaning..
Does anyone else have the same problem and can they say that they too have a problem with abstract reasoning?
I also have a problem with working memory.. How would I improve this?
Any help, comments, assistance, advice is appreciated.